CHRIS GRAHAM, DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL
ORMOND BEACH — Eileen Selis was born in Pennsylvania to two U.S. citizens, has been called for jury duty and has voted in almost every presidential election since Dwight D. Eisenhower’s re-election in 1956.
But that hasn’t stopped the state of Florida from questioning her right to vote.
“It just came out of the blue,” the 76-year-old woman said Monday. “There’s no reason why they should be questioning my citizenship.”
Selis is one of 15 people in Volusia County and about 2,600 statewide identified in a voter purge ahead of this year’s presidential election. In Flagler County, the eligibility of one voter has been questioned.
Last year, Florida compared driver’s license records with voter registration records and found as many as 182,000 registered voters who might not be U.S. citizens. State officials sent out a smaller list of more than 2,600 voters and asked elections supervisors to check the names.
The Ormond Beach resident said she received a letter dated May 18 from Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall that questioned her eligibility to vote. She quickly responded, sending a copy of her passport to prove her citizenship.
“I’ve voted all my life,” she said. “I voted in New York and in Florida all these years and nothing was ever said. Why would they even question it, period?”
Selis has lived in Ormond Beach since 1975 and has never been convicted of a crime that would cause her voting rights to be revoked, she said.
Reached by phone Monday, McFall said she sent out letters to the 15 Volusia County residents identified by the state as possibly being ineligible. She found one person is serving in the U.S. military and another is a U.S. citizen, though she did not know if Selis is the other person who responded.
“I stopped checking after that,” McFall said.
McFall said most, if not all, county elections supervisors have suspended purging voters’ names after two lawsuits were filed, including one from the U.S. Department of Justice challenging the validity of the purge. Another lawsuit is expected to be filed today.
“It’s probably a good program,” McFall said, noting that voting purges usually occur during odd numbered years. “But there was no consultation at all about this work.”
McFall said the 15 voters will be allowed to vote in the coming elections and an investigation will be conducted by the state if it’s found someone may have been ineligible.
Kimberle Weeks, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, said one person was identified in her county as being possibly ineligible to vote, though that person has never cast a ballot. Weeks said the person would be dropped anyway due to inactivity. If the person decides to vote, the person can provide documentation of citizenship and cast a provisional ballot.
The controversial purge effort spearheaded by Gov. Rick Scott has led to wide-ranging criticism and to a slew of lawsuits.
On Monday, a group of organizations – Advancement Project, Fair Elections Legal Network, LatinoJustice PRLDEF and Project Vote – announced they plan to file a lawsuit today against Secretary of State Ken Detzner, at least the third such challenge to the voter purge.
Joshua Spaulding, a spokesman for the Fair Elections Legal Network, said the basis for the group’s lawsuit is that Florida’s purge is occurring within 90 days of a federal election. The state is holding its primary on August 14.
He added the purge program has had a high inaccuracy rate – with at least 500 of the 2,600 people identified as being ineligible to vote – having proven their citizenship.
Division of Elections spokesman Chris Cate said he was unaware of anyone being erroneously dropped from the voter rolls. He said 107 people have been ruled ineligible as of April.
“That number could increase as we get more feedback from county election supervisors,” he said.
Cate added officials knew eligible voters were on the list and have been asking the Department of Homeland Security for access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program database, which could provide vital information necessary to confirm the status of potential non-citizens.
Last week, Secretary of State Detzner filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security for failing to provide access to the database.
“We can’t let the federal government delay our efforts to uphold the integrity of Florida elections any longer,” Detzner said in a news release issued last week. “We’ve filed a lawsuit to ensure the law is carried out and we are able to meet our obligation to keep the voter rolls accurate and current.”
But Selis is worried that she and others may show up on Election Day and not be able to cast a ballot.
“I hope this isn’t going to harm people who were doing the right thing,” she said. “I think everybody should vote.” READ MORE